Jamestown Middle School

Jamestown, North Carolina

FIRM

CLIENT

Guilford County Schools

AREA

30,000 sq.ft.

TOTAL COST

$4,200,000.00

COMPLETION DATE

9/2002

The Jamestown Middle School design concept was based on an inclusive process that involved teachers, students, parents and facility managers of the Guilford County School District. The program included a new gym, a commons area, 12 classrooms, three science rooms and a resource room.

The solution was dependent on materializing the idea of composed learning units. ADDITIONAL INFORMATIONCAPACITY300COST PER SQ FT$140.00FEATURED IN2003 Architectural Portfolio classrooms and one science room were grouped in each wing of the building and oriented for southeast natural light. This concept was adopted to develop a school-within-a-school while allowing for intimate team-teaching areas. Modified L-shaped classrooms provide technology learning pods, which maximize teacher supervision.

An atrium spine joins the new and old buildings and creates a student commons area adjacent to the existing cafeteria and new gym, while also providing a strategic circulation path that connects with other campus buildings. The atrium clerestories along the spine provide natural light into a tired 1960s school building and create a visually pleasing environment. The final project illustrates how pedagogical objectives can be translated into physical form.